Postbellum Concerns
by Lalage
Summary: Matters of intergalactic safety didn't really concern Verdona. Matters of her granddaughter's personal life, on the other hand... a series of unrelated one-shots B10AF; spoilers for "War of the Worlds"
1. Portbellum Concerns

**Postbellum Concerns**

They had to ride the bus home, but none of them felt like complaining; they were still running high on alien-fighting adrenaline. It wasn't so bad when it was the three of them, but once Ben got off (Gwen lived farther down the line than he did and Kevin wanted to make sure she got home safely, even if he didn't say so), people began assuming things. While Gwen just blushed and withdrew her hand from his, Kevin had no qualms about informing the tsk-ing old lady behind them that if they had done what she was assuming they had, Gwen's hair would be much more messed up, she wouldn't be wearing tights and she'd be wearing her sweater backwards.

"I'm so mortified," Gwen said when she and Kevin stepped onto the sidewalk. She stared at the scuffs on her shoes; she groaned when she noticed her sole was coming off. She'd make Kevin take her shopping.

"Aw, come on," he said, leading her down her walkway, "You don't look that bad."

Gwen pulled her keys out of her pocket, but before she could insert them into the lock, the door opened.

Gwen Tennyson, who had never sworn before, chose that moment to start.

"Hello, granddaughter!" Verdona pulled Kevin and Gwen inside, "Greg," she said coldly to Kevin, who didn't feel like correcting her, "I hear you kids managed quite a feat!"

"Hi, Grandma," Gwen said, pushing Verdona away and walking into the kitchen, "Kevin, do you want something to drink before you head back to-" she stopped when she saw her parents (both in their pajamas), standing by the counter looking completely miserable and sipping tea, "Mom, Dad. Hi." They simply grunted a response.

Kevin walked in awkwardly behind Gwen, "Uh… good evening Mr. and Mrs. Tennyson."

"It's two in the morning," Mr. Tennyson almost growled.

"That doesn't matter," Verdona said, pushing Gwen and Kevin all the way into the kitchen, "Gwendolyn, come with me, I need to speak with you."

Kevin shifted awkwardly as Gwen walked up the stairs, "So, uh… Sorry for coming back so late. Hope we didn't wake you?" He didn't have much experience with parents, especially not with parents of the girl he kind-of-maybe-might be thinking about pursuing a relationship with.

Mrs. Tennyson's eyes went from his ripped sneakers to his dirt-streaked jeans to the bruises on his neck and forehead all the way up to the slightly singed hair on the top of his head.

"We don't ask Gwen many questions," Mr. Tennyson said finally, "We trust her. But when the two of you come back this late looking-"

"We didn't do anything!" Kevin blurted, his earlier confidence gone in one fell swoop, "We were just fighting aliens!"

"Verdona mentioned something about you kids saving the world," Mrs. Tennyson said, her mouth up against her mug.

Kevin sighed, but his relief was short-lived.

"Just because you saved the world doesn't mean you're trustworthy," Mr. Tennyson said, "It's going to take more than beating a bunch of aliens focused on destroying the Earth to make us trust you with our girl." He said this with so much nonchalance that Kevin began choking on the air he was breathing.

"Uh, I'd like to assure you," Kevin said between gasps, "I'd like to assure you that I… uh… I have no intention of dishonoring your daughter."

Mrs. Tennyson's eyes widened so much and Mr. Tennyson flinched so severely that Kevin thought for sure both were about to be sent into cardiac arrest.

"I mean," he said quickly and much too loudly, "That's not what I meant! What I mean is I'd never try to date Gwen or anything without- I mean, I would never- I'll make sure she's home by nine next time! Or do you want her home by six? I can do that too!"

Mr. and Mrs. Tennyson stood as still as stone for so long, Kevin thought that perhaps the both of them had gone into comas while standing. He wasn't sure of what the proper protocol was while being stared at by the parents of the girl he kind-of-maybe-might be thinking about pursuing a relationship with, so Kevin simply stood with his hand behind his back, looking to the side.

Finally, they heard Gwen let out a scream from upstairs and stomp down to the kitchen.

"Kevin! I'm walking you to the bus stop!" Gwen declared, her ears and neck as red as her hair. She grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards the front door, "Mom, Dad, I'm walking Kevin to the bus stop!"

"Didn't he used to have a car?" Mrs. Tennyson said right before Gwen slammed the door shut.

"So…" Kevin said once Gwen's ears were no longer the color of tomatoes, "What did your grandma have to say? Does she know about… you know, what happened earlier?"

"_It doesn't concern you_!" Gwen snapped, her eyes wide. Kevin stared at her and Gwen's ears turned that same adorable shade of chili peppers, "Oh! Oh. Yes, she knows about my powers."

"What did you think I was talking about?" Kevin asked slowly, almost afraid of the answer considering Verdona was involved.

Gwen groaned as they reached the bus stop, "I might as well tell you since I have the sinking suspicion Grandma is going to track you down if I don't," she tried to run her fingers through her hair, but got caught on a particularly large tangle. She focused all of her attention on untangling it as she continued to talk, "Do you remember the last time she was here?"

"All I remember is some fighting, threats and…" a kiss on the cheek, "Uh, you deciding to not leave with her?"

"I'm talking about when Grandma compared you to Grandpa?" Gwen said slowly.

"Nope, don't remember it."

"Well," Gwen, having successfully untangled the knot in her hair, began dragging her shoe across the sidewalk, "She compared you to Grandpa. Pretty much said that Grandpa had a… a spark and you were really similar to him."

Kevin tried to look down the road for the bus, still not really sure where Gwen was trying to go with this. As much as he loved spending time with Gwen, he really kind of wanted to go to sleep.

"Oh, for the love of-" Gwen said suddenly, "My Grandma gave me the Anodite version of a sex talk involving reproduction with humans!"

For a moment, Kevin didn't know if Gwen was being serious or not. However, he quickly figured out what he hoped was the proper response- he began laughing hysterically.

"It's not funny! And I thought I was mortified before…"

"Wait," Kevin stopped suddenly, "You being serious?"

Gwen just gave him a look. Kevin's face heated up faster than he thought possible.

"Oh," he looked down at his sneakers.

"Here comes the bus," Gwen said.

"Right!" Kevin said enthusiastically, "You can go back home now."

"Right," Gwen echoed, "I'll, uh… see you tomorrow?"

"Right," Kevin said as the bus stopped in front of him, "Uh, so we can go to the car show?" he sincerely hoped that was still on.

"Right. Car show," Gwen couldn't look Kevin in the eyes, which was fine because he couldn't look at her in the eyes either, "See you."

All Verdona, who had been watching the two of them without their knowledge, could think about was how entertaining it was going to be set their future daughter up with a human.

AN: So hopefully this meets the expectations of those who read "Experience and Rice"! I was thinking about the upcoming live action movie and wondering if it's going to follow canon or not, which led to wondering what might've happened to the characters after saving the world. I can totally picture Verdona being more concerned with something like that than the fact that they just saved the world from being destroyed. Yeah, that's pretty much it. YES. I DO HAVE A FIXATION ON KEVIN AND GWEN HAVING CHILDREN. THEY WOULD BE ADORABLE. I LOVE DEVLIN. I appreciate any comments or criticism. Thanks!


	2. The New and Improved AlienMobile

**The New and Improved Alien-Mobile**

Kevin wanted to go to the car show. Gwen wanted to go through a list of missing persons and see who had been found. Gwen won because she gave him a kiss and Kevin was a bit frustrated. A kiss wouldn't cut it forever, but for the moment, it was enough to bend him to her will.

"I can't believe you aren't more concerned about this," Gwen said, eyes glued to the television as another former DNAlien was reunited with her family- her name was Theresa, she had been missing for three months and apparently her twelve year old daughter had missed her very much, "Look at this, Kevin! We helped bring these two back together!"

"Big deal," Kevin said from behind a mouthful of potato chips, "Come on, the show only lasts for a few days and I don't want all the good cars to be gone!"

"You can go without me if you want to."

Gwen had a way of talking that sometimes irritated Kevin (only sometimes though, because Gwen rarely used it). She would make her voice slightly higher and more sing-songy and whenever she used that tone of voice, it meant that if Kevin did what she was 'telling' him to do, he would never get any for as long as they both lived (or until he gave into her wishes). Gwen was talking in that tone of voice at that very moment so Kevin just growled a little and stuffed more chips into his mouth.

"Don't worry," she said, curling up into Kevin. She put her hand on his chest just lightly enough, "I _promise_ we'll go. Just two more," she paused, "How are we getting to the car show anyway? The bus?"

It wasn't the coolest thing in the world, Kevin knew, but the fact was there was no other way to get there, so he nodded.

"I have a better idea!" Gwen exclaimed, "Ken's home from school so he can take us!"

Kevin was about to explain that a) he would not be caught dead in Ken's car, b) he would not be caught dead being driven by Ken in Ken's car and c) if he tried to get into Ken's car, he would have a heart attack because of what a piece of crap it was, but before he could, Ken was suddenly behind them.

"Ken can take you where?" Ken asked, ruffling Gwen's hair.

Kevin decided he liked the look of Gwen's hair all messed up and he should work extra hard to make sure it got messed up again in the near future.

"Kevin needs to get a new car," Gwen explained, "The Alien-Mobile got wrecked."

"What did you just call my car?" Kevin demanded, not really sure if he had heard Gwen correctly.

"Ben's idea," Gwen said quickly before looking back up at Ken, "So can you take us?"

"We don't need a ride." Kevin said at the same time Ken said, "Sure."

Even though Gwen didn't catch it (she was concentrating on the reunion of Luke Liddell and his fiancée), both Kevin and Ken did and began glaring at each other.

There wasn't anything in particular that created a problem between the two guys. Instead, it was simply that Kevin didn't like Ken because of his car and his pansy-ass way of dealing with things (and the way Gwen worshipped him) and Ken didn't like Kevin simply because he and Gwen were unofficially going out (not that either parties involved would admit it).

"Okay, see," Gwen said, "Two more- let's go," she took Kevin's hand and prepared to do what she had recently gone in the habit of doing- running her fingertips quickly over his fingernails; before she could, however, Kevin ripped his hand from hers.

Ken glared at Kevin. Kevin ignored him.

"So do you know what kind of car you're looking for?" Gwen asked as they drove to the car show in the Awesome-Mobile.

"Not really," Kevin said uncomfortably, "Just, you know, check things out and see what they got and if I see something, I'll get it." The seats in the Awesome-Mobile weren't as cushiony as the ones in his old car. The fabric was so itchy, Kevin thought he was going to have to scratch his butt. He wasn't sure how Gwen, who had ditched her school outfit in favor of denim shorts and a chiffon blouse, could bear it.

"A new car or an old one? I think you should get a new one, like an SUV, especially if we're getting more people on our team. Your old car only had five seats, right? That's barely enough for all of us," Kevin looked at her quizzically, "You, me, Ben, Julie and Ship."

"The dog does _not_ get its own seat."

"What kind of dog is it?" Ken asked from the front seat.

"A mutt," Kevin said cockily, "A mix of some fancy breeds that someone like me wouldn't be able to pronounce."

Gwen's mouth dropped open slightly. A reprimand was on the tip of her tongue; Kevin could sense this and he looked at her with such an angry longing that Gwen kept her words to herself.

The rest of the ride was filled with a thick cloud of tension. When Ken dropped them off, he asked how much time they would need.

"Go home," Kevin said in that same cocky voice, "I'll bring Gwen home."

Ken started at Kevin. Kevin stared back. Ken left. Kevin smirked. Gwen was furious.

"I cannot believe you acted like that! Towards my brother, no less!" Gwen started walking down the aisles of cars, focusing solely on her sneakers.

"Aw, come on!" Kevin followed after her, "Cut me some slack! You didn't see the way he was looking at me!"

"I don't care how he was looking at you!" Gwen stopped and turned to him, "He's still my brother!"

"You don't get angry when I treat Ben like that," Kevin wanted to slap himself, feeling like he was about two steps away from cocking his hips and placing his hands on them.

"That's because he's my cousin and he's different," she made it sound like it was the simplest thing in the world and Kevin almost wished he could smack her- then stopped. Sometimes he still couldn't help the terrible, horrible thoughts that snuck into his brain; the result of living too long by himself, both in New York, then in the Null Void and finally in Bellwood. Up until meeting Gwen and Ben again, every thought he ever had, ever secret desire and every little bit of anger just simmered in his brain, morphing into a mish-mash of sociopathic, uncontrollable-

"Kevin?" Gwen put her hand on his shoulder.

"Let's take a look at that car," Kevin pulled her towards a red '38 Oldsmobile.

Gwen knew when to drop something, "You're not serious."

"I'm not," Kevin smirked.

They looked at several vintage cars, from Demons to Comets. Gwen tried to steer Kevin towards the newer Envoys and FJ Cruisers. As a joke, Kevin suggested they get an E-250 Cargo Van. Unfortunately for him, Gwen didn't realize it had been a joke and full-heartedly agreed that that's what he should get. Kevin changed her mind by hinting at all the lewd things they could do in the back with the seats removed.

For a moment, Kevin thought he had gone too far when Gwen grew silent, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I was just thinking about…" Gwen paused, "We don't really know that much about each other."

"What's there to know? You're a butt-kicking half-Alien and I'm the coolest guy around." Without thinking, Kevin picked Gwen up and began swinging her around. She yelled at him to put her down in between her giggles. That's when Kevin saw it.

"Hey," he said suddenly stopping, but still holding Gwen up around the waist, "Hey, Gwen, how about that?"

Gwen took one look at what he was pointing at and immediately looked back at him, knowing it was a joke, "Oh, yeah. Great idea, Kevin! I'm sure all of us would be quite comfortable with that."

Kevin put her down and walked slowly towards the black monster, "No, I'm serious!"

"There's only two seats," Gwen pointed out, "I thought the idea was to get a car that could fit the entire team!"

"I never said that," Kevin said, "I think this is the one!"

Gwen walked up behind him, "Not much room for any tech you might find."

"That's okay," he said, "I can get another ride and this one can be for pleasure only." Gwen thought she would just about collapse the way Kevin was looking at her.

"I still don't think it's a good idea," she said finally.

"Come on," he said, "I'll give you a kiss if you say you like it."

Of course, Gwen was never one to turn down a kiss from Kevin.

An hour later, Ken glared at Kevin through the window of the Tennyson household. Gwen unwrapped herself from around Kevin. She was sorely tempted to give him just one last kiss before he left, but she could feel her brother's disapproving stare through the window. She decided to cut Ken some slack; it was the first time she was unofficially going out with a guy (even if neither parties involved would admit it), so he was just acting like any older brother would.

"See you tomorrow?" Gwen asked.

"Nah," Kevin said, "I'm doing business tomorrow."

"Sure you don't want me to come along?" Gwen wanted to slap herself. She felt like she was two steps away from turning into a needy, clingy girl-who-was-a-friend.

"Yeah, I'm sure. It's not something I want you to get involved in," Kevin said, "But I'll see you after that. What do you think those preppy rich kids at your school would say if I showed up on this thing?"

"They'd probably say something like 'wow, there goes that half-Alien freak and the coolest guy around.'"

Kevin grinned. Gwen took a step back. Kevin drove away on his new motorcycle.

**AN:** I have decided to make "Postbellum Concerns" a series of mostly unrelated one-shots, all set after "War of the Worlds" and in no particular order, mostly because I keep thinking of ideas of what might've happened to the characters after the final episode, especially since I have no clue if there's going to be a third season (here's hoping!) and I need something to tide me over for a while until the movie. I feel like this one maybe was a little more unfocused than my other two stories so far, but oh well! This is dedicated to my very first repeat reviewers, Dragonscall and Green Gallant. As usual, all comments are appreciated!


	3. Flannel Nightgowns and Cowboy Boots

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it. If I did, there would be a novel and the movie would be coming to theaters. And Gwen wouldn't be wearing such a boring outfit all the time.

* * *

**Flannel Nightgowns and Cowboy Boots**

Kevin Levin decided that Gwen Tennyson was not cute- at least not in the clothes she normally wore.

He had no clue what he was going to do with 'the rest of his life.' When he was younger, he wanted to be a Plumber or an astronaut, but living day-to-day for so long and just about killed any ability he had to think of the long-term future. He knew what Ben was going to do- that kid was going to keep saving the world until the day he died (and even after he died, his son or ward or somebody would take over for him). Kevin even had a pretty good idea of what Gwen was going to be: a senator. That was probably why she dressed so stiffly all the time. Her skirt was always ironed, her collar always straight and her boots shined to a pristine black sheen.

So no, Gwen Tennyson was not cute in the clothes she normally wore, because those clothes were strictly utilitarian and not at all conducive to attracting members of the opposite sex (except for three- himself, Cooper and that stupid Darkstar who, Kevin had heard, still had the hots for Gwen). At that exact moment, though, Kevin decided that Gwen was adorably sexy and he wanted to make sure she never donned that stupid school uniform ever again.

The whole fiasco, Gwen decided, had started when they beat the Highbreed. She was the sort of girl who needed 'me time' at least once a week- time to hang out in her underwear, watch bad chick flicks, eat nothing but ice cream all day and dance around on the table to Britney Spears. Until Ben had decided to start wearing the Omnitrix again, Gwen's Saturdays had been reserved exclusively for that aforementioned 'me time,' but once the fate of Earth had been jeopardized, that fell to the wayside. However, now that the Highbreed and DNAlien threat was no longer, Gwen decided she needed a whole weekend of 'me time' to make up for lost time. Her parents liked to go hiking on Saturday and all it took was a bit of convincing to get the house to herself for two straight days.

So on Saturday morning, Gwen Tennyson did what she always did for her 'me time.' She changed into her comfiest clothes (which happened to be an incredibly hideous floral-print flannel mini nightgown), spread a chocolate mask over her face, French braided her hair and settled down on the couch with her Jennifer Lopez movie collection and a package of ice cream sandwiches and five 2-liter bottles of Mountain Dew. She was halfway through _Maid in Manhattan_ when the doorbell rang. Gwen barely had time to stand up before the door swung open.

"Gwen! Big news! Magister-" Ben stopped short when he saw his cousin, "Um… bad time?"

As Kevin stepped into the doorway behind Ben, Gwen gnashed her teeth, "You _think_? This is my time! My time by myself!" without thinking, Gwen stepped up and over the couch, providing the two boys who were still a little shell-shocked with a quick peek of her comfy underwear (Superman boxers), "I have been neglecting my 'me time' for the past five freaking weeks! Now tell me, what the hell is so important that it couldn't wait until Monday!" Gwen stopped face to face with Ben.

Kevin sniffed the air, trying to keep his eyes focused on something other than Gwen, "Is that chocolate on your face?"

"_What do you want?_" Gwen screamed, pushing Ben.

"Um… Magister Ghilhil is here. He, uh…" Ben scratched the back of his head, "He wants to take our statements about what happened at the battle?"

Gwen leaned back a bit, "Oh. Oh, I see. Magister Ghilhil wants our statements. And _he couldn't wait until Monday, why_?"

"Come on, Gwen!" Kevin protested, "He's a really busy guy!"

"I don't care!" Gwen yelled, turning around and stomping up the stairs to her room, "This is my time! I don't ask for much, just one day out of the freaking week! I don't think that's too much to ask for, but I guess it is!" she continued to rant as the door to her room shut.

Kevin looked at Ben, "Was that chocolate on her face? 'Cause it kinda smelled like chocolate."

"I think it was," Ben said, shifting.

A beat passed, "Do you… is she coming back down?"

"I'm not really sure," Ben said, walking over to the TV and turning it off, "Jeez! Is Gwen eating for two or something?" he picked up a bottle of Mountain Dew, "No sane person needs this much Mountain Dew!"

Kevin furrowed his brow, "Why would she put _chocolate_ on her face? Was she…" Kevin looked at Ben, bewilderment in his eyes, "Was she planning on having some guy lick it off her face or something?"

Ben stared at Kevin, "I don't know. What do you think? Of course not! She doesn't even know any guys she'd _want_ to lick chocola…" he trailed off awkwardly, "Other than you, of course."

"_What_?" Kevin demanded as Gwen began stomping back down the stairs.

"All I want is some time to mentally _de_toxify and physically toxify!" she was muttering under her breath, "I have been waiting _all week_ for today just so my parents would be gone and stupid Magister decides _today_ is the day he wants to talk to us!" she stopped in front of Kevin and Ben, "Come on, let's go and get this over with!"

That was when Kevin Levin decided that Gwen Tennyson was not cute in the clothes she normally wore. However, standing before him in that hideous floral-printed flannel mini nightgown, black belt around her waist, hair pulled back and cowboy boots on her feet, Kevin decided that Gwen was the most adorable thing he had ever seen.

The entire drive to meet with Magister Ghilhil, Gwen was sprawled across the back seat of Kevin's new 1974 Maverick, her feet up against the window, Superman boxers bared to the world, mumbling about how unfair life was being to her.

"So…" Ben said awkwardly, "Do you do that often, Gwen?"

"He means do you put chocolate on your face a lot?" Kevin said, smirking.

"It cleanses my pores," Gwen said angrily, "I haven't done it since this whole mess started."

"Really?" Kevin said, a smirk still on his face, "So what, do you just melt some chocolate in the microwave and slather it on?"

"Kevin?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up. Just shut the hell up."

Kevin shut the hell up. He also decided that he was going to take Gwen shopping and get her a whole lot more cowboy boots and floral mini-dresses though.

* * *

AN: This idea suddenly came to me so here it is! Gwen seems like the kind of girl who would have a 'me' day. Honestly, though, I have no clue what length of time Alien Force is supposed to be over; I'm just guessing with 5 weeks. One thing that always bothers me is that they never change clothes; I know the reasons why, but at least Ben takes off his jacket sometimes! You know how in "All That Glitters," either Kevin or Ben (I forget) is like "Gwen's been wearing her sleeves lower"? SHE ISN'T. THEY DON'T CHANGE A THING. I make costumes for fun so I notice these things and it bugs me. Hence me putting Gwen in an outfit she would look really cute in (someone who's good at drawing- draw me a picture please! Haha) As always, comments and criticism always welcome!


	4. Modern Day BratPack

**Modern Day Brat-Pack**

* * *

Normally Kevin didn't mind listening to music when he drove- but that was only when he picked the music.

"Can someone tell me what the hell this is?" he demanded.

"It's Lil Mama," Julie said from the back as if it was something Kevin should know from the get-go.

"Duh," Gwen said, also from the back. Kevin could hear the slight smirk in her voice.

"Come on, Kevin," Ben said, "We can't all be angry and rebellious like you. Sometimes we gotta _get loose_," he sang the last part, which sent Julie and Gwen into fits of giggles in the back.

"No. We are not getting loose," Kevin snapped, changing the radio station, "We are staying uptight and listening to something else! Whose idea was that anyway?"

"Mine," Julie reminded him, "My turn to pick the music, remember?"

"No! No turns! My car, we listen to my music!"

Unfortunately for Kevin, by that point Julie knew full well he was all bark and no bite- especially when it came to her and Gwen. The two of them had discussed late one night the reasons for his non-confrontational semi-chivalry; they couldn't decide if it was because of a lack of girls in the Null Void, strict etiquette training as a child that just stuck, or a combination of the two.

"Come on, Kevin," Gwen said, "It _is_ Julie's turn."

"WALF," Julie said as Kevin grumbled and Ben changed the station. She squealed, "Oh my god, I _love_ this song!"

"Me too!" Gwen said excitedly.

Kevin and Ben furrowed their brows, listening to the lyrics. Behind them, Gwen and Julie sang along.

"I don't get it," Ben said finally. "'If you seek Amy'?"

Kevin froze, "Wait."

"All of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if you seek Amy!" Julie and Gwen chorused.

Ben's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates and he gaped at Kevin. Kevin did the same.

"Changing station!" Ben declared, "Right now!" He ended up just turning the radio off altogether.

"You guys are no fun," Gwen said.

"No, you just have bad taste in music," Kevin turned around in his seat to look at the girls, "Who was that anyway?"

"Britney Spears," Julie said.

"Duh," Gwen added.

"I don't think these two should be allowed together- _ever_," Kevin said. Ben nodded, praying that his girlfriend and cousin didn't see him doing so.

"Gwen," Julie whispered, "You pick the music- he can't say no to you."

"I hate to take advantage of him like that," Gwen said before quieting for a moment, "Oh well!" she climbed up and over the gearshift, "Excuse me, boys."

"What now?" Kevin cried pathetically.

"Nothing bad," Gwen promised, hoping she wasn't flashing anyone as she tuned the radio.

"Oh!" Ben exclaimed, "Oh! Dude, I know this song!"

Gwen sat back down and all was silent in the car except for the sound of John Parr. Suddenly all hell broke loose when the chorus began and the three youngest began singing at the top of their lungs.

"What is this?" Kevin asked, staring as Ben began singing about flying with eagles.

"_St. Elmo's Fire_," Gwen said, "Like the movie."

"The… _movie_," Kevin echoed.

"Yeah," Julie said, "You know, with the brat pack?" he gave her a blank look, "Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall…"

"Molly Ringwald, Demi Moore," Gwen continued, "Andrew McCarthy…"

"Judd Nelson!" the two finished together, sighing overdramatically.

"Who?"

"I just know the song," Ben said defensively, "I dunno who they're talking about either."

"Judd Nelson!" Julie repeated, "You mean you've _never_ seen _The Breakfast Club_?"

"What, do they make pancakes or something?" Kevin asked.

Gwen and Julie looked at each other and rolled their eyes.

Ben felt as lost as Kevin.

"_The Breakfast Club_ is perhaps the most influencial teenage movie ever," Julie explained, "And Judd Nelson played the criminal in the movie."

"It was about a group of teenagers who all got detention together," Gwen said, "And each of the characters was from a different clique. So there was an athlete, that was Emilio Estevez, a princess- she was played by Molly Ringwald. Ally Sheedy was the loony-"

"Basketcase," Julie added.

"Right," Gwen said, "And Anthony Michael Hall was the geek."

"Technically he was the geek in _Sixteen Candles_," Julie corrected, "In _The Breakfast Club_ he was the brain."

"Same difference," Gwen said, "Anyway, by the end, Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson hooked up and Ally Sheedy and Emilio Estevez hooked up and Anthony Michael Hall was just sort of by himself with his essay."

"Yeah," Julie agreed.

Ben and Kevin stared at the girls.

"So…" Kevin said slowly, "The rebel ended up with the princess?"

"Criminal," Julie corrected.

"The criminal…" Kevin echoed softly, turning around in his seat, "Right. The criminal and the princess."

Immediately an air of unease settled into the small car.

After a bit, Gwen cleared her throat, "Yeah, it's really great- totally romantic. Gives hope to criminals and princesses everywhere." Once more, she reached over the gearshift, this time grabbing Kevin's hand firmly in her own.

Kevin knew what she was trying to say- _it's not your fault. You've changed. Magister Ghilhil pardoned you. You're a good person._

_I love you_.

He squeezed her hand.

She smiled.

Ben cleared his throat, "Uh… you know, I'm kind of an athlete. You know… soccer and everything?"

Gwen coughed.

Julie said, "Are you calling me a basketcase?"

Kevin coughed in an attempt to cover a laugh.

"Okay," Gwen sat back down, "My turn to pick the music!"

"You just picked it!" Ben protested.

"No, I was picking it on behalf of Julie," Gwen said smugly, nudging Kevin in the shoulder, "Just change it to whatever."

He changed the station and grinned, "Nine Inch Nails it is!"

* * *

AN: I got nothing this time. :) I don't own Ben 10, "If U Seek Amy" or any of the other things mentioned in this piece. They belong to their respective owners.


	5. Listen

**Listen**

**

* * *

**

Kevin was fixing his car.

Gwen was reading a book.

It was the same old, same as always, American-as-cherry-pie situation they always found themselves in, except for one thing.

Lately, Gwen had gotten in the habit of talking. She wouldn't talk directly to Kevin, she would just talk. She would start explaining what she had learned in English that day, or which girl was cheating on her boyfriend and when upcoming pep rallies were. At first, Kevin made an effort to acknowledge that he was, indeed, listening. Soon enough though, he realized she didn't need or want any acknowledgment. She knew he was listening.

He liked listening to her talk. It was just a little silly, but he thought she had the most soothing voice in the world. He would sometimes fall asleep under his car, just from listening to her talk. She would talk about the most mundane things, he would admit, but that didn't matter; what mattered was that she was willing to share the mundane things in her life with him.

He sometimes wished he had mundane things to share with her, but even his mundane things weren't as exciting as hers. What was he going to say?

"So. Fixed my car. Um… worked on the car some more. Then you came over and I listened to you talk. And… uh… worked on the car some more. Oh yeah, then I went to Wendy's and got a crispy chicken sandwich. It was good."

That day, however, Gwen wasn't talking- they were having a fight.

Kevin thought it was mostly Gwen's fault. How was he supposed to know she was a vegetarian? No, he hadn't noticed the way she always ordered Veggie Burgers when they went out. He thought he was being considerate ordering dinner for the both of them; he didn't even think twice about warning Gwen there was meat in the pierogies. Next thing he knew, Gwen was throwing up and refusing to talk to him.

Gwen knew it was mostly her own fault, but she wasn't about to tell _him_ that. She shouldn't have gotten so upset, but it was their third almost-date and she was nervous enough and then the meat made her feel sick and… She wasn't going to cancel their daily hang out time though. Instead, she would just concentrate on reading about the drama unfolding between Jane and Rochester.

Kevin glared at the stick still stuck in the underside of his baby. He had been trying for the past ten minutes to get it out, but somehow the damned thing had gotten lodged in just so that it was practically impossible to get out in one piece and breaking the stick would result in further damage to the car. He abandoned his tools and tried pulling at the stick with his bare hands again. Before he knew what was happening, the stick was out. Unfortunately, the effort he had exerted resulted in slicing the back of his hand against the metal of his car.

"Shit!" he yelled.

Gwen didn't say anything. She was used to him swearing while working.

Kevin grabbed his handkerchief and pressed it to his hand, "Gwen?"

She said nothing.

Kevin removed the handkerchief and looked at his hand- by his judgment, he needed at least a few stitches, "Gwen?" he called again. Usually any injuries he sustained, he mended himself, but he never had to give himself stitches before. Gwen still didn't respond and Kevin's heart began to race, "Gwen?" He ducked his head a bit and sighed in relief at the sight of her black shoes, "Gwen, I get it you're mad at me, but I kinda might need some help."

He heard her shift, "What?"

"I might be bleeding?"

"I'm sure you have band-aids someplace."

Kevin watched in horror as his handkerchief grew completely soaked through. He removed it and could've sworn he saw a bit of bone, "Gwen?"

"If you ask nicely and tell me where they are, I might go get them for you."

"Gwen!"

"_What_?" Gwen demanded, throwing her book onto the seat next to her.

Kevin wheeled slowly out from under the car and held up his hand.

"Oh my gosh!" Gwen cried, stumbling out of her chair towards him, "Where are the band-aids? What do we do? That looks so serious!"

"I need you to get the First Aid kit," he gestured to the box on the wall, "And, uh, I think there's a sewing needle and fishing wire in it. And a lighter near it?"

Gwen tripped over herself several times before making it to the kit and back. At Kevin's request, she found an antiseptic wipe and handed it to him.

"I have a Red Cross certification," Gwen said, her voice shaking as Kevin cleaned off his cut, "But I…" Kevin held up the sewing needle, already threaded with the fishing wire, "What do you…" she realized what he wanted and held the lighter up to the needle, "I don't suppose you want to go to the hospital then?"

"Costs too much," Kevin said, "I don't have insurance."

Gwen paused for a moment, "So are you saying you don't have car insurance?"

"No, I have _that_," there was no need for her to know it was slightly illegal, "Just not health insurance." He looked at Gwen, whose hands were shaking and eyes were wide, "You can close your eyes if you want."

She did. Kevin was silent as he stitched up his hand.

"I'm done," he said, wrapping a bandage around his hand.

"Should I even ask how that happened?" Gwen asked softly.

"No," Kevin grumbled, feeling like an idiot, redness creeping over his cheeks.

Gwen looked at the floor for a moment, "This makes me feel stupid."

"Huh?" He looked at her.

"It makes this whole thing seem really juvenile, huh?"

"Are you talking about that… uh… dinner?" he was afraid if he mentioned the meat itself, she would explode.

"Yeah," she said, "That." She bit her lower lip before looking up at him hopefully, "You know, they say a little fighting is good sometimes."

Kevin stared at her. She was scared. He looked back at his bandaged hand and mumbled.

"I didn't catch that," Gwen said anxiously.

"I'm tired of fighting," Kevin repeated so she could hear him.

"Oh," Gwen said, thinking about how this was the shortest relationship she had ever been in and how real relationships weren't supposed to be this short and maybe it wasn't a real relationship anyway since neither of them had come right out and said anything serious and all this thinking wasn't helping and just making her feel worse instead.

"I've been fighting for so long," Kevin said, "I mean, my mom used to say that I came into the world fighting and stuff. I don't want to fight for a while, especially now that the DNAliens and Highbreeds are gone and stuff."

Gwen nodded, already making back-up plans. She had seen a coupon in the paper for free ice cream from the supermarket and there were some Oreos in the cabinet she could deep-fry. Julie was at tennis, but she would be available to come over around five or so for a cry-fest and _Thelma and Louise_ had just come in through Netflix.

Gwen figured she would be all set. Except, of course, for her heart, but there really wasn't a whole lot to be done about that.

"Are you even listening?" Kevin demanded.

Gwen nodded.

"Then why do you look so upset?"

Gwen thought that there was no better way Kevin could've ripped her heart from his chest (because her heart already belonged to him, after all), ground it into the cement floor and poured lemon juice all over it.

"I mean," Kevin said angrily, ripping her eyes away from her to glare at the ground, "I just thought that… forget it."

That's when Gwen realized that she probably missed something, "Huh?"

"You deaf or something?" Kevin demanded and then, somehow thinking that it was a distinct possibility, began to panic, "You are okay, right? I mean, you didn't hit your head or anything, right?"

"I'm fine," Gwen said hurriedly, "I just think I sort of zoned out. What was that you were saying?" She hoped he didn't think she was silly.

He always thought she was silly, but in a good way. He sighed.

"Nothing. Just…" Kevin did not have a way with words and he knew there was no way he would be able to repeat what Gwen had just missed on, "I got some Hot Pockets I was going to heat up. You want one?"

"What flavor?" she would eat one with meat if it made him keep her.

"Cheese and Broccoli," Kevin said with a half-smirk/half-grin.

"Definitely," Gwen said, "Are you sure you're okay to heat them up?" she eyed his injured hand.

"Fine," Kevin stood up, "Be back in a moment."

Gwen concentrated, trying to recall what Kevin had said in the few moments she had lost her concentration. He was talking about not wanting to fight anymore and he had said it in such a defeated tone that Gwen was sure he meant they couldn't be together anymore (even though they were never officially together to begin with), but…

"I'm sick of fighting for your attention and fighting this… well, you know that old song by the Countdown Singers? They're kinda old. But… I kinda just want us to be together for as long as I can make you happy and stuff. And if I'm not making you happy, just tell me and I swear I can change, okay? 'Cause… I don't know. I think I might be… you know. Really bad. With you. Are you even listening?"

Gwen hated herself. He probably thought she was a spastic idiot who didn't care about his feelings at all.

He thought she was spastic, but in a good way, and _never_ an idiot; she was the smartest person he knew. As for how she felt about his feelings…

Kevin knew how she felt the moment he returned balancing one Broccoli and Cheese and one Pepperoni Hot Pocket on top of each other in his good hand. She just gently took his injured hand and brushed her lips against each one of his fingers. He put the Hot Pockets on a napkin.

Nothing needed to be vocalized- they simply pressed their lips together and listened to what the other had to say.

* * *

AN: Not too happy with the ending, but oh well. I tried rewriting it several different times and this seemed to work the best :/ I don't know if Gwen's a vegetarian or not- she seems like she might be for some odd reason. (The Countdown Singers totally rock my world, by the way). As always, criticism and comments are always welcome!


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